Author: Starvision News Desk

Singapore, Aug 2 (IANS) Seah Kian Peng, an MP for Marine Parade Group Representation Constituency in Singapore, was elected as the city-state’s Parliament Speaker on Wednesday.During his first address as the Speaker, Seah called on his colleagues in Parliament to be vigilant in personal conduct and bear the weight of office with dignity and a sense of duty, reports Xinhua news agency.Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong nominated Seah as the 11th speaker on July 21 to replace Tan Chuan-Jin, who resigned on July 17 over an extramarital affair with fellow People’s Action Party MP Cheng Li Hui, who also stepped…

Wellington, Aug 2 (IANS) New Zealand’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.6 per cent in the June 2023 quarter, compared with 3.4 per cent last quarter, due to a rise in the working age population and people made themselves available to work, the statistics department said on Wednesday.Stats NZ said that unemployment, along with underemployment and the potential labor force, is one of the components that comprise underutilisation, which is a broader measure of spare labour market capacity than unemployment alone, reports Xinhua news agency.”Despite the strong quarterly increase, the June 2023 quarter underutilization rate remains relatively low compared with…

Colombo, Aug 2 (IANS) Sri Lanka received over 750,000 tourists and earned foreign exchange revenue amounting to $800 million during the first seven months of this year, according to a statement from the President’s Media Division (PMD).Quoting State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage, the PMD said this accomplishment played a crucial role in bolstering Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves, reports Xinhua news agency.The PMD said the state minister emphasized the importance of introducing new approaches and adopting innovative strategies to enhance the tourism industry.”Last year, the tourism business had fallen into a very sad situation. Tourists did not make Sri Lanka…

Dubai, Aug 2 (IANS) A Dubai-based Indian man has won a grand prize of AED20 million in the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) leading weekly draw, Mahzooz.Originally from Mumbai, Sachin, a 47-year-old CAD technician working at a private company, has been residing in Dubai for 25 years.He was named the winner of the139th draw held on July 29.On the day the prize was announced, Sachin had brought home the newest addition to his family, a kitten.Sachin humorously attributeed his win to the good luck brought by the feline. The devoted family man lives with his wife and three children. Overwhelmed with…

Islamabad, Aug 2 (IANS) As the Pakistan government is readying to bring in an interim setup with a mandate to hold elections within 90 days, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has hinted towards a delay in the polls, creating a rift within his coalition partners. The visible rift, as seen on various social media posts, is exposing the lack of talks and closed door consultations between Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz (PML-N)) party and its major coalition partnerPakistan People Party (PPP),The premier has said that elections will be held only on the basis of the 2023 digital census, hinting towards a delay…

Singapore, Aug 2 (IANS) A 64-year-old Indian woman, who fell off a cruise ship into the Singapore Strait this week, has died, according to a social media post shared by her sonThis comes even as the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) said that efforts are on to search Reeta Sahani who was onboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship with her husband, Jakesh Sahani. “The cruise liner finally did share the footage with us & a search is also underway. With the footage we have unfortunately learnt that my mother has passed away,” the victim’s son Apoorv Sahani posted…

Kathmandu. Aug 2 (IANS) Amid reports that Nepali nationals were joining the Russian Army, the government in Kathmandu has urged citizens not to join any other foreign forces than the ones with which the Himalayan nation has bilateral agreements. In a statement on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that its attention had been drawn to news reports and social media posts stating that Nepali citizens have been recruited by foreign armies in war-torn nations.There were reports of Nepali nationals joining the Ukrainian army, while several others also acknowleged on social media of being recruited into the Russian military.The…

New York, Aug 2 (IANS) Indian-American Shohini Sinha has been named as the Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Salt Lake City field office in Utah state.Sinha, who was named to the top post by FBI Director Christopher Wray, most recently served as executive special assistant to the Director at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Joining as an FBI special agent in 2001, Sinha was first assigned to the Milwaukee Field Office, where she worked in counterterrorism investigations. She also served in temporary assignments at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, the FBI Legal Attache Office…

Washington, Aug 2 (IANS) US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, Geeta Rao Gupta is on a week-long visit to India to highlight and advance the American government’s gender equality policy priorities in the region and around the world.Gupta, who commenced her visit on Tuesday, is presently in Gujarat where she is leading the US delegation to the G20 Alliance for the Empowerment and Progression of Women’s Economic Representation (G20 EMPOWER) Conference. She will also attend the G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment, according to a State Department press release. She will travel to Mumbai on Saturday to meet members of…

Beijing, Aug 2 (IANS) China’s National Meteorological Centre (NMC) on Wednesday renewed a blue alert as Typhoon Khanun, the sixth typhoon this year, is moving northwest toward the East Sea.From 8 a.m. Wednesday to 8 a.m. Thursday, strong winds with speeds of 39 to 74 km per hour are expected in the Bashi Channel, areas to the east of Taiwan island, most parts of the East Sea, waters near the Diaoyu Island, the Hangzhou Bay, coastal areas of Zhejiang and northern regions of Fujian, northern parts of Taiwan island and coastal areas in the south, with wind gusts surpassing 100…